Staff working at public hospitals in Tasmania are still reeling from recent violent attacks. To many of them, it is indeed seeming like an uphill battle to get back on the full time front lines. Elke King and Nurse Charles were both victims of violence while practicing their profession. Their experiences underscore the widespread demand for improved mental health care access, as well as a greater need for workplace safety improvements throughout our health care system.
In March of last year, a patient attacked Elke King in Launceston General Hospital. Unfortunately, this attack led to an extensive shoulder injury she has still to this day. She’s been on modified duties as she adjusted to her recovery and recently just started back full time. King says that increasing mental health resources in Tasmania would prevent most of the 551 incidents reported at public hospitals. He is optimistic these changes will solidify tangible outcomes.
Living through a violent episode as a nurse on shift at the Royal Hobart Hospital. Today Dangerous is speaking out about how aggression has been normalized in the workplace. He remembers a particularly disturbing experience, where he was literally pulled through an emergency room triage portal and put at risk of execution.
“He physically tried to drag me through the triage window at the emergency department,” – Nurse Charles
Increasing Incidents of Violence
The rate of such violent acts against healthcare workers is shocking. Charles described his experience, saying, “I’ve been spat on, I’ve been kicked, I’ve been punched.” Such attacks are increasingly the norm, driving a growing fear for the safety of healthcare professionals.
Robbie Moore, another representative for health care workers, noted that these aggressive and violent acts happen “on the daily basis. He hopes the new safety protocol, “code grey,” will address these challenges head-on. This is one of the most monumental steps taken by the Biden Administration towards advancing safety. This new protocol gives staff the ability to intervene before a situation escalates, providing a lower threshold for calling officers in for help. Moore underscored that it is very much still in too early to judge the effectiveness. This follows on from reporting 243 code grey incidents during a 60-day period.
“To be seeing it that regularly is beyond what anyone would think was reasonable and just shows the amount of issues we have in our health system,” – Robbie Moore
The Psychological Toll on Healthcare Workers
Violence’s effects on mental health are deep and far-reaching. After his assault, Charles developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was out of work for about eight months. Since that battle, he has started counseling with a psychologist to help him deal with his trauma.
In reflecting on the normalization of violence, Charles stated, “It’s one of those things where you stop and look and go, ‘That’s normalized in our workplace.’” His experiences underscore the critical need for systemic changes to prevent healthcare workers from violence.
Elke King is working to raise awareness and advocacy for mental health services. She thinks that without better spaces and services, episodes of violence will only increase. “The only way that I myself personally think that this could be alleviated was if we had more mental health facilities within the state and we had a better drug and alcohol system,” she stated.
“It was just one of those unfortunate things that happens in our line of work,” – Elke King
A Call for Change
As healthcare workers are forced to contend with more violent and hazardous workplaces than ever before, the demand for accountability is surging. Moore shone a light on the many support workers who exit the system, worn down by stress, or lack of feeling safe in their work. “We have seen people leave the system because they just can’t cope with the amount of stress and danger that they’re put under,” he noted.
As King and Moore highlight the urgent need to improve mental health services, they advocate for more rigorous transparency and safety procedures in hospitals. Adding code grey is an excellent first step. Yet, even with these necessary steps, healthcare workers will continue to face real pressures without additional funding and reforms to address root causes.
